Flexible electric conductor.



L; STEINBERGER.

FLEXIBLE ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1911.

1, 01,579, Patented June 30,1914. j

INVENTOR/ WIT/V5882 [was J/e lhzeryar BY w g M ATTORNEYS York, have invented a new and Improved the body ortion, of the conductor and that relativel LOUIS STEINBERGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FLEXIBLE ELECTRIC CONDUCTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 3, 1911.

Patented June 30,1914.

Serial No. 636,599.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS STEINBERGER,- a.- citizen if the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New Flexible Electric Conductor, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to flexible electric conductors adapted for general use, and more particularly to conductors for trolley. and catenary overhead line constructions for purposes of electric traction. More specifically stated, I seek to produce a conductor having the following advantages :I.. It comprises a longitudinal supporting member anda removable ribbon of copper or other metal having a low ohmic resistance and provided with a suitable contact surface, the construction thus formed combining great strength, low cost and ease of application. II. The ribbon having a contact face may be applied to the supporting wire at the time w en the latter is manufactured, or may be placed in position u on it at any time after the wire is suspende d; moreover, the ribbon may be cut into various lengths, as found most convenient or desirable. III. Should aportion of the ribbon-forming the contact face be worn away, such portion may be readily replaced at a low cost. IV. The body portionof the conductor may be made of steel or any proper material possessing comparatively great mechanical strength, andwhen once installed will last indefinitely. V. The ribbon carrying the contact face may be I applied-in such a manneras to compensate for the difference in co-efliciency and expansion or contraction between the material of of the r1 bon. VI. The conductor as a whole may be cheaply constructed and possesses far ater mechanical strength than if made 0 copper wire of the same size. VII. The particular object of the invention is to provide a combination of parts comprising a body portion of relatively great tensilestrength and a cover rtion of cat conductivity, an to provide the ypart with portions forming protective pockets for receivin apidprotecting edge ortions of the cover, t e y part being a apted toguide the edge portions of the cover into the pockets.

Reference is to be had tothe accompanyfigure eight Wire and having upon its.

lower lobe a ribbon of copper bent under and partially around it, the, r bon of copper being continuous and forming a conducting envelop of comparatively low ohmic resistance; F 1g. '2 is a fra mentary view partly in perspectlve and part y in cross section, showing a form of my electric conductor in which there are two sections of the ribbon, these sections bein beveled at their adjacent ends and these on s being spaced a little distance apart in order to compensate for the differences of expansion or contraction between the body portion of the conductor and the copper sections; Fig. 3 is a view somewhat similar ,to Fig. 2, but showin still another form'of my invention, in w ich one of i the copper sections overlaps another; Fig. a is. a fragmentary perspective showing the form in which the copper ribbon is made and shaped, in' order to facilitate its attachment toand' detachment from the body portion of the conductor; and Fi 5 is a detail showing'the roll of copper ri bon used for splicing or 'patchinizthat is, supplying. strips of copper rib n' of any arbitrary length desired, to be applied to the body portion of the conductor in place of similar strips or parts thereof which may have become worn out. v

The body of the wire is made of two portions 6, 7 integral with each other-and each having a nearly cylindrical form, the pertion 7 being of greater diameter than the portion 6. Intermediate these two portions and separating the same are two channels 8. As above stated, the entire body portion of the wire is preferably made of steel or tough iron and has great tensile strength.

At 10 is shown a ribbon of cop er which may originally have the form indicated in Fi 4 or that shown in Fig. 5, as desired.

ere the operations are extensive I prefer to wind the ribbon into the form of a scroll,

as indicated in Fig. andto unwind it and :pply it directly to' the bottom ortion of 6 wire, as indicated in Fig. 1.- is done by pressing up the edges of the copper rib bon so that they enter the channels and are closed firmly against the body of the wire at the junction betweei'i the upper portion 6 and the lower portion 7 thereof, the channels forming sort of pockets into which the longitudinal edges of the ribbon engage. The upper portion 6 of the wire bulging abruptly out *ardly in close proximity to the edges of the ribbon, etl'ectually protects the edges against injury and against likelihood of being bent outwardly from the wire especially by a foreign object moving transversely thereof. It will be noted from an inspec tion of Fig. 1 that the angles defined between. the surface portions of the parts 6 and 7 of the wire are substantially right angles, that is, that the under surface portions of the part 6 flare outward in substantially right. angular relation to the adjacent upper surface portions of the part 7. This arrangement is of decided advantage in guiding the ribbon to its allotted position. The opposite edge surfaces of the ribbon, engaging flat against the relatively flat surface of the part 6, are positively guided into the pockets so that likelihood of one edge of the ribbon being higher, that is, being lapped upon the part 6, is positively prevented.

In instances where it is desired to avoid the effects of expansion or contraction, I apply the ribbon as indicated in Fig. 2. Here are two sections of the ribbon 9. 10, each provided at its ends with bevels 11, 12, these ends being spaced slightly apart. Whenever the conductor as a whole becomes heated or cooled, the difference in expansion or contraction, between the body portion of the wire and the ribbon, may tend to cause the ribbon to slip slightly in relation to the body portion, and this is prevented from doing any harm by the arrangement shown in Fig. 2. Again, I sometimes assemble the parts as indicated in Fig. In this instance, there are two sections 13, 14:, of ribbon, each beveled at 15, 16, as before, but one of the sections overlaps the other, thereby forming a telescopic joint. The purpose of this arrangement is in general the same as that of the arrangement shown in Fig. 2. That is to say, it avoids the'evil effects of expansion or contraction of the copper sections relatively to the body portion of the wire.

The scroll 18 has generally a cylindrical form and the portion 17 of the ribbon as rolled off from the scroll is easily formed, as indicated in Fig. 4, so as to have U shaped cross section, and after being thus formed is easily applied to the underportion of the wire, as above described.

The ohmic resistance of the flexible electric conductor above described is very small. This is particularly the case if the parts be of large The conductor is suitable for either direct or alternating currents, but for the latter it has a peculiar advantage due to the fact that the copper ribbon is so disposed as to take advantage of the so-called skin effect. This principle follows from the known fact that alternating currents,

and especially such currents of high frc quency, seek to follow the outside rather than the inside of a conducting body, and consequently that if the outside be of cop per or of other conducting material having an unusually low ohmic resistance, the conductivity of the conductor as a whole is greatly increased. I

The structure described is especially well adapted for wireless telegraph and telephone insta-llations. It will also be noted that, as far as practicable, separate and somewhat independent parts of the conductor perform different duties. That is to say, the body portion furnishes the strength for supporting not only itself, but the copper ribbon carrying the contact surface, while the copper ribbon decreases the resistance in two ways; first, by virtue of its own low resistance it is, per se, a good conductor; and second, the current can now flow through a larger path, consisting in part of the copper ribbon and in part of the body portion of the wire.

As may be readily understood from the foregoing description, the copper ribbon does not completely encircle the body of the wire. This fact is of great economical advantage, as the cost of copper is much greater than that of the metal used for the body portion of the wire, and less copper is required to cover the portion 7 than would be necessary to cover the entire body of the wire if the latter were cylindrical.

I do not limit myself to the exact form of any or all of the parts herein shown and described, nor to the particular arrangement or combination shown, nor to the precise method herein shown for applying the ribbon-like conducting material to the supporting body member, as other means will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described my invention. what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a flexible electric conductor, the combination with a body member formed of a plurality of integral longitudinally extending substantially cylindrical parts merging into each other, of a. cover part comprising a plurality of independently formed sections of conducting material er tending longitudinally of and substantially inclosing one of the parts of the body, juxtaposed sections of the cover being arranged in lapping relation at their ends so as to have free movement relatively to each other longitudinally of the body.

A two-part flexible electric conductor formed of a body member and a conducting member, said conducting member comprising a plurality of separately formed. sections extending longitudinally of the length of the body member engaging therewith'so as to have free movement relatively to each other longitudinally of the body.

3. A two-part flexible electric conductor formed of a body member and a conducting member, said conducting member comprising a plurality of separately formed sections..extending longitudinally of the length of the body member engaging therewith in lapping relation, and having free movement relatively to each other longitudinally of the body member. 1

4. In a flexible electric conductor, the combination with a body member formed into a pair of integrally formed longitudinally extending substantially cylindrical parts merging into each other so as to provide longitudinally extending juxtaposed surface portions disposed in angular relation to eachother transversely of the body memher at opposite sides thereof, forming pockets longitudinally of the body, of a cover part comprising a ribbon of'metal extending longitudinally of the body, said ribbon being bent transversely around one of the cylindrical parts of the body, so that its opposite longitudinal marginal edge portions are forced into HOSllZlOII between the juxtaposed angular wa s of the pockets.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' LOUIS STEINBERGER.

Witnesses:

VVALToN HARRISON, PHILIP D. ROLLHAUS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, .D. 0. 

